Pea and bean sheller



LEVIS CUTTING, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PEA AND 'BEAN SHELLER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53,956, dated April 17, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS CUTTING, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented certain new and uset'ul Improvements in Machines for Shelling Iease and Beans 5 andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation ot the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part ot' this specifica tion, in which- Figure l isa side view ot' my machine; Fig. 2, a section; Fig. 3, a view of feed-apron.

The nature ot' my invention relates to the employment ot' two rollers having hard surfaces corrugated or uneven. These rollers are connected by gearing with a shaft and crank, revolving brushes or cleaners being placed longitudinally with the rollers for the purpose ot' keeping them free from particles otl pods which may by chance adhere to them.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improved pea and bean sheller, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation, as follows-that is to say:

The machine consists substantially otl a pair ot' hard rollers ot` the desired size-say six inches long and one inch in diameter-coinposed either ot' wood or metal, (shown in drawigs by letters A 13,) the former roller being driven by power and communicating motion to the latter, or B, by means otgearing C C.

rlhe rollers are maintained in loose contact by means of springs 8s acting upon the upper boxes, in which the rollers run. These rollers are mounted in a wooden frame, E, which supports also rollers I I and other appendages ot' the machine.

An apron, F, open atthe back, receives the pods, which are thence fed into the grooves G G. These grooves are about one-fourth otl an inch wide, more or less, and placed about one inch apart, constructed of iron, having typemetal cast upon them. They may, however, be made of other material. I prefer typemetal, as this composition does not gum up and is not affected by acids or rust, which greatly retard the operation of feedin 0'.

The pods are fed into the machine by either of their ends, and, coming in contact with the rapidly-revolvin g rollers,are freed from all their berries, large and small, which fall back into a sack, S', attached to the hooks H H, while the pods pass through between the rollers and are delivered in tront of them upon the floor of the room where the machine is operated.

The lollers I I driven by pulleys, I) PP, and belts carry each two brushes, J J, ot such length that their outer extremeties come in contact at each revolution with the periphery of the rollers, and clear the corrugations ot' them from any particles ot' pods which may chance to adhere to them. rlhese brushes revolve in opposite directions at a greater degree ot'speed than the rollers themselves. Consequently the rollers are constantly kept clean and tree. rlhe brushes lnay be made ot' broombrush or bristles, or any other material of sut'- iicient stitiness, or ot' any shape, itl so be the desired object is accomplished. I prefer, however, to use bristles or broombrush, as this is more convenient and desirable,

By the use of hard surfaces, corrugated or grooved, t'or my rollers, the small pease as well as the large ones are taken from the pods, while in other machines, wheresoft surfaces for rollers are made use ot, the small pease are drawn in through the rollers and mashed or crushed with the pods, which is more especially the case on the Pacitc coast, should such a machine with sol't surfaces for rollers be put in operation there for the use above described, where in nearly every pod nearest tothe stem small immature pease will be found, while at the opposite end ot' thesame. pod berries fully matured will be found.

I clainr- The combination and arrangementotl the inclined feeding-apron F, rollers A and B, brushesJ J, and sack S', the whole arranged for joint operation substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

LEWIS CUTTING. [L.S.] Witnesses C. W. M. SMITH,

ANsoN F. CORNELL. 

